This application relates generally to biometrics. More specifically, this application relates to methods and systems for estimating genetic characteristics of individuals from biometric measurements.
“Dermatoglyphics” refers generally to the scientific study of ridge and valley patterns on skin, usually primate skin. In human beings, the skin on the fingers, palms, toes, and soles is ridged, and the characteristic pattern of such “fingerprints” is well known to be used in the identification applications because the specific pattern on an individual is unique. Other mammals show similar patterns on the corresponding surfaces of their paws and some primates are known to have ridged skin along the tail.
Traditionally, the ridge and valley patterns have been collected for identification applications by applying ink so that a copy of the pattern may be stored on appropriate physical media. More recently, digitized versions of the patterns have been stored electronically. In either case, storage of a database of patterns enables a comparison with a pattern supplied by an individual to verify his purported identity or enables a scan of the database of patterns to attempt identification of a pattern belonging to an otherwise unknown individual. The development of digitized versions have beneficially allowed sophisticated pattern-comparison algorithms to be used in searching large numbers of stored patterns to facilitate law-enforcement, immigration, and other processes.
In addition to being unique, it is also known that the characteristic patterns, which are referred to generically herein as “fingerprints,” irrespective of the location of the skin site where they appear, may be related to certain genetic disorders. Because the patterns develop during a critical period of embryogenesis when the architecture of an individual's major organ systems is developing, correlations may exist between chromosomal abnormalities that affect the organ systems and the presence of certain dermatoglyphic features. For example, dermatoglyphic correlations with the genetic disorder of Down syndrome, caused by the full or partial presence of an extra 21st chromosome, were established well before the chromosomal basis for diagnosis. Those with Down syndrome have mainly ulnar loops and significantly different triradial angles in their fingerprints than do those who are unaffected by the syndrome. The predominance of whorls has been associated with Turner syndrome. Excess arches on the fingertips have been associated with Patau syndrome. Still other, more complex systemic patterns have been correlated with the presence of other genetic disorders.
With the development of practical genetic testing, relatively little research on establishing correlations between dermatoglyphic patterns and genetic disorders has continued, and the correlations that are known rely on very coarse, simple features like the number of triradii, ridge count, number of whorl patterns, asymmetries across hands, etc. These forms of classification are largely based on the features originally established by Sir Francis Galton in the 19th century.
A more sophisticated classification of dermatoglyphic patterns, coupled with an analysis of their correlations with genetic disorders, would enable preliminary assessments of genetic disorders to be made very easily and noninvasively through the collection and analysis of fingerprints.